The strong phase of QED

The strong phase of QED is studied in the ladder approximation. In the leading approximation we show that the perturbative vacuum of QED is unstable against forming the electron-positron bound state if the coupling is greater than a critical value. We argue that the chiral symmetry is spontaneously broken in the strong phase of QED, if we choose the correct boundary conditions to the gap equation and the nonperturbative β-function found by Miransky is taken into account. We also calculate the ratio between the infrared limit of the electron self-energy and the vacuum condensate, γ = Σ²(0)/k = 1.     

超强激光与固体靶作用驱动量子电动力学级联和稠密正电子产生的研究进展

极端超短超强激光脉冲的诞生将光与物质的相互作用推进到由辐射阻尼效应和量子电动力学（QED）效应占主导的高度非线性物理范畴。强场QED效应蕴含了丰富的物理过程包括辐射阻尼、高能伽马辐射、正负电子对产生、QED级联、真空极化等,是高能量密度物理和强场物理研究领域的前沿热点。QED级联是解释致密天体辐射和伽马射线暴形成的重要物理机制,其产生的稠密正电子源在高能物理、材料无损探测、癌症诊断等领域亦有重要的应用前景。介绍了QED级联过程及其理论模型,讨论了固体靶中的QED级联发展及其诱导的非线性物理效应,并回顾了固体靶中稠密正电子产生的主要研究成果。     

Higher-order QED corrections to single-W production in electron–positron collisions

Four-fermion processes with a particle lost in the beam pipe are studied at LEP to perform precision tests of the electroweak theory. Leading higher-order QED corrections to such processes are analyzed within the framework of the structure function (SF) approach. The energy scale entering the QED SF is determined by inspection of the soft and collinear limit of the radiative corrections to the four-fermion final states, paying particular attention to the process of single-W production. Numerical predictions are shown in realistic situations for LEP experiments and compared with existing results. A Monte Carlo event generator, including exact tree-level matrix elements, vacuum polarization, higher-order leading QED corrections and anomalous trilinear gauge couplings, is presented. Received: 5 October 2000 / Published online: 11 May 2001     

Towards understanding astrophysical effects of nuclear symmetry energy

The European Physical Journal A - The properties of the quantum electrodynamic (QED) vacuum in general, and of the nuclear vacuum (ground) state in particular, are determined by virtual processes...     

Probing vacuum birefringence by phase-contrast Fourier imaging under fields of high-intensity lasers

In vacuum high-intensity lasers can cause photon–photon interaction via the process of virtual vacuum polarization which may be measured by the phase velocity shift of photons across intense fields. In the optical frequency domain, the photon–photon interaction is polarization-mediated described by the Euler–Heisenberg effective action. This theory predicts the vacuum birefringence or polarization dependence of the phase velocity shift arising from nonlinear properties in quantum electrodynamics (QED). We suggest a method to measure the vacuum birefringence under intense optical laser fields based on the absolute phase velocity shift by phase-contrast Fourier imaging. The method may serve for observing effects even beyond the QED vacuum polarization.     

The charged vacuum in over-critical fields

The concept of over-critical fields, i.e. fields in which spontaneous, energy-less electron-position pair creation may occur, is discussed. It is shown that only a charged vacuum can be a stable ground state of the overcritical field. The time-dependent treatment confirms previous results for the cross sections for the auto-ionizing positrons. The questions in connection with the classical Dirac wave functions in over-critical fields are extensively discussed in the frame of the self-consistent formulation of QED including the effects of vacuum polarization and self-energy.     

QED-modified radiative properties and dynamics of cold atoms moving through an evanescent wave

Measurements of the radiative properties of cold ⁸⁷Rb atoms close to a dielectric/vacuum interface are reported. This is the first observation of a quantum-electrodynamic (QED) modification of radiative properties in vacuum near a dielectric surface. Evanescent wave (EW) spectroscopy on cold atoms that were dropped on a glass surface was used. An increase of the natural linewidth by up to 25% compared to the free space value was found. This was attributed to QED broadening and level shifts, as well as local Stark shifts near the surface. By varying the characteristic EW length, a position dependence characteristic for QED was observed. The role of transient internal dynamics of the atoms as they move through the strongly inhomogeneous EW was investigated.     

Dyson pairs and zero mass black holes

It has been argued by Dyson in the context of QED in flat space-time that perturbative expansions in powers of the electric charge e cannot be convergent because if e is purely imaginary then the vacuum should be unstable to the production of charged pairs. We investigate the spontaneous production of such Dyson pairs in electrodynamics coupled to gravity. They are found to consist of pairs of zero rest mass black holes with regular horizons. The properties of these zero rest mass black holes are discussed. We also consider ways in which a dilaton may be included and the relevance of this to recent ideas in string theory. We discuss accelerating solutions and find that, in certain circumstances, the “no strut” condition may be satisfied giving a regular solution describing a pair of zero rest mass black holes accelerating away from one another. We also study wormhole and tachyonic solutions and how they affect the stability of the vacuum.     

Extreme quantum field theory and particle physics with IZEST

The prospect of next-generation ultra-high-intensity laser sources has prompted recent renewed study of nonlinear QED processes, such as the Schwinger effect, in which the instability of the QED vacuum is probed by external fields. Experimental observation of these nonlinear QED effects would provide unprecedented controlled access to non-perturbative processes in quantum field theory under extreme conditions, which is of direct interest in particle physics and astrophysical applications. I summarize important theoretical issues, both conceptual and computational, related to these nonlinear QED effects.     

Investigation of Green's functions in an external electromagnetic field by the eigenfunction method

This paper contains a study of Green's functions in a quantum electrodynamics (QED) with an external electromagnetic field that disrupts vacuum stability. Representations are found for the Green's functions of a scalar QED in the eigenfunction basis of Klein-Gordon equations for a uniform constant electromagnetic field in combination with the field of a plane wave.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 6, pp. 70–74, June, 1989.     

Coupled-cavity QED using planar photonic crystals

We introduce a technique for controlling cavity QED by indirectly coupling two planar-photonic-crystal nanocavities through an integrated waveguide. Guided by an explicit analytical expression for the photon Green function, the resulting optical response of a single quantum dot, embedded in one of the cavities, is shown to be profoundly influenced by the distant cavity. The regimes of cavity QED, e.g., vacuum Rabi splitting, are made significantly easier and richer than with one cavity alone.     

The QED vacuum polarization function at four loops and the anomalous magnetic moment at five loops

The anomalous magnetic moment of the muon is one of the most fundamental observables. It has been measured experimentally with a very high precision and on theory side the contributions from perturbative QED have been calculated up to five-loop level by numerical methods. Contributions to the muon anomalous magnetic moment from certain diagram classes are also accessible by alternative methods. In this paper we present the evaluation of contributions to the QED corrections due to insertions of the vacuum polarization function at five-loop level.     

Pair production and optical lasers

Electron-positron pair creation in a standing wave is explored using a parameter-free quantum kinetic equation. Field strengths and frequencies corresponding to modern optical lasers induce a material polarization of the QED vacuum, which may be characterized as a plasma of e+e- quasiparticle pairs with a density of approximately 10(20) cm-3. The plasma vanishes almost completely when the laser field is zero, leaving a very small residual pair density n(r) which is the true manifestation of vacuum decay. The average pair density per period is proportional to the laser intensity but independent of the frequency nu. The density of residual pairs also grows with laser intensity but n(r) proportional to nu(2). With optical lasers at the forefront of the current generation, these dynamical QED vacuum effects can plausibly generate 5-10 observable two-photon annihilation events per laser pulse.     

Higher harmonics in vacuum from nonlinear QED effects without low-mass intermediate particles

We show that in the presence of a slowly rotating strong transverse magnetic field there is an infinite spectrum of harmonic wave functions An due to the first order QED correction (in alpha2) given by the Euler-Heisenberg Lagrangian. The frequency shifts are integer multiples +/- omega(0)n of the magnetic field angular frequency rotation omega(0)=2pinu(m), and the several modes n are coupled to the nearest harmonics n+/-1. This is a new effect due to QED vacuum fluctuations, not exploited before, that can explain, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the recent experimental results of the PVLAS collaboration without the need of a low-mass intermediate particle, hence may dismiss the recent claim of the discovery of the axion.     

New strong-field QED effects at extreme light infrastructure

Since the work of Sauter, and Heisenberg, Euler and Köckel, it has been understood that vacuum polarization effects in quantum electrodynamics (QED) predict remarkable new phenomena such as light-light scattering and pair production from vacuum. However, these fundamental effects are difficult to probe experimentally because they are very weak, and they are difficult to analyze theoretically because they are highly nonlinear and/or nonperturbative. The extreme light infrastructure (ELI) project offers the possibility of a new window into this largely unexplored world. I review these ideas, along with some new results, explaining why quantum field theorists are so interested in this rapidly developing field of laser science. I concentrate on the theoretical tools that have been developed to analyze nonperturbative vacuum pair production.     

‘Faster than light’ photons in gravitational fields — Causality,anomalies and horizons

A number of general issues relating to superluminal photon propagation in gravitational fields are explored. The possibility of superluminal, yet causal, photon propagation arises because of Equivalence Principle violating interactions induced by vacuum polarisation in QED in curved spacetime. Two general theorems are presented: first, a polarisation sum rule which relates the polarisation averaged velocity shift to the matter energy-momentum tensor and second, a ‘horizon theorem’ which ensures that the geometric event horizon for black hole spacetimes remains a true horizon for real photon propagation. These results are consequences of an effective action which in QED is valid only for low frequency photons. Their relevance to signal propagation and causality, which are controlled by high frequency propagation, is dependent on the dispersive properties of the modified propagation. This will be discussed elsewhere. A comparison is made with the equivalent results for electromagnetic birefringence and possible connections between superluminal photon propagation, causality and the conformal anomaly are exposed.     

Supermembrane monopole vacua

The supermembrane classical solutions with non-trivial circle bundles, i.e. supermembrane monopole vacua, are derived. The hamiltonian of the fermion fluctuations about the monopole vacuum configuration is weakly hermitian, in contrast with the same problem in QED. The electrically charged and dyon analogues to the monopole vacua are also discussed.     

On the problem of divergences in Quantumelectrodynamics

In a first step we have tried to show that very probably in Quantumelectrodynamics (QED) due to vacuum polarization effects the original bare charges of electrons and positrons are smeared out so much that their original divergent energy distances from the vacuum energy become finite. Furthermore, we have sketched how one has to generalize the calculations to refine the considerations presented in this paper.